A Vader's Will
by Marwana
Summary: A couple of weeks after the Death of his father Luke receives a (unpleasant) surprise. Warnings: fluffy, kinda character death (not Luke), OOC.


_This is the first Star Wars story I've ever written... besides that: I've only seen the films (I - VI and The Clone Wars, not the series though...). And it has been a while ago since I last saw them..._

_Anyway, some things that you should know before you start reading:  
**Vader** = the Dutch word for Father (it has almost the same pronunciation as 'father'). The title is a play on both Vader's name and his 'title' as the father of Luke..._

_Like I said before: I only watched the films (kinda lie as I read some of the books but that has been even longer ago... and I played some of the games... I especially loved Star Wars Racer and Rogue Squadron :P ) so I've no idea what happens after the Battle of Endor according to the books..._

_**Warnings:** Fluffy, character death (not Luke), OOC._

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Star Wars, those rights belong to their respective owners. I do own the spelling and grammar mistakes :P_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**A Vader's Will**

**oOo**

"Commander Skywalker!" a voice shouted from behind him and he couldn't help the sigh that escaped his lips. He had been trying to repair the damage done to his X-Wing during the Battle of Endor and this was the ninth time he was called upon since he had started on it.

The Alliance had too few fighters so he had been forced to part from it due to the fact that he had chosen to try and turn his father back to the Light Side of the Force. The pilot who had used it had been lucky enough to survive the battle as so many others hadn't survived the trap. Sadly enough, the pilot had been forced to crash on one of the moons of Endor to stay alive which meant that the fighter had to be repaired.  
The one who had flown it had offered to repair it for him but the man had been wounded during his crash landing so Luke had waved his offer away. Besides, he liked to repair his fighter, it normally calmed him down.  
If only he had the time for it.

The Alliance had decided to set up a base on the Forest Moon of Endor and he had been tasked to make sure everything happened the way it should happen. That took a lot of time, especially as the Ewoks – who tried to help – did more harm than good and a lot of pilots had either died or barely survived during the Battle of Endor. So most of the work came down upon him, Han and the remaining few who were not as heavily wounded as to be incapable of working.

"Commander Skywalker!"  
With another sigh he rose from his spot underneath the belly of the X-Wing and turned towards the man who had been calling his name. It wasn't someone he recognized but that wasn't really something new.  
"What can I do for you?" he asked politely as he carefully channelled some of his frustration into the Force – a trick he had mastered a couple of days ago with some help from the spirit of Yoda.

"Senator Mothma and Princess Organa wish to see you, they are in the second conference hall," the man told him, "they told me to tell you that it had something to do with your father."  
He hadn't really been paying attention as soon as the word 'senator' had been mentioned as he was still partly occupied with his fighter but the word 'father' snapped his full attention to man in front of him.  
"What about my father?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes at the man. The man blinked in surprise at his sharp gaze and took a startled step back.  
"I don't know sir," he told him, "that was all the princess told me."

Luke closed his eyes briefly as he remembered the happenings on the second Death Star. It had only been a couple of weeks since he had managed to get his father back from the Dark Side only to lose him to death and he still wasn't over said death.  
"Is that all?" he finally asked as he opened his eyes again.  
"Yes, commander," the man told him.  
"Thank you," Luke told him with a solemn nod before he turned back to the table with his tools and swapped the hydrospanner still held in his hands with the lightsaber he had placed on the table before he had started on his X-Wing.  
When he turned back around the man had disappeared.

With another sigh he placed his lightsaber in its spot on his belt and left the hangar.

**oOo  
**  
"Senator, Leia, you asked for me?" he said as soon as he entered the conference hall, only to stop short as he noticed that they stood before the holocom which glowed a bright blue, indicating that someone was on the other side, "I am not interrupting something, am I?"  
Leia shook her head, "it's actually for you."  
Luke blinked at her before he slowly made his way towards them so he could speak to whoever it was. He couldn't think of anyone who would want to speak to him who was not on the base or on the moon.  
As soon as he neared them Leia and Senator Mothma moved away to make space for him, though they didn't move beyond the reach of the holocom.

The holocom displayed a man of average height dressed in the standard uniform of an Imperial Commander. Luke noticed the six red and blue stripes showing that he was an admiral on his chest and he couldn't help but wonder why an Imperial Admiral would want to speak to him and why Leia and Mon Mothma even _allowed_ him to speak to him.  
"What can I do for you, admiral?" he asked politely.  
"Luke Skywalker, I presume?" the man asked – a slight Outer Rim accent noticeable – as he bowed deeply to him, much to Luke's shock.  
"Er… yes," Luke finally managed to say after a couple of seconds.  
"I am Admiral Firmus Piett of the Star Dreadnought _Executor_, the flagship of the Death Squadron and Lord Vader's personal Super Star Destroyer," the admiral introduced himself primly.  
"Nice to meet you?" Luke couldn't help but ask, unsure as to what he should think of the man in front of him and confused as to why he wanted to speak to him in the first place.

"I received some personal information originating from the Imperial Core that is meant for you, my lord," Piett said before his gaze turned towards the women on either side of him, "might I suggest some privacy?"  
"Like we told you before, everything you want to tell Luke will have to be told to him in front of us," Leia told him coolly before Luke could answer, "I am sure Luke agrees."  
"Does my lord agree with Princess Organa?" Piett asked as he turned back to Luke.  
"Er… sure," he finally answered as he noticed that Piett meant him.

"Very well," Piett said through pursed lips, "first of all: I would like to offer my condolences for the death of your father. Contrary to what many people say and think he was an excellent commander, a great strategist and an even greater pilot and engineer. Emperor Palpatine couldn't have done even a single percent of what he has done without your father. He will be missed as our Supreme Commander."  
Leia snorted derisively from her place next to him and Piett turned once again his attention towards her.  
"Lord Vader saved more people than you'll ever know in your entire life," he told her coldly, "so I would appreciate it if you could keep your _opinion_ to yourself."  
While Luke had twitched slightly when Piett had mentioned his father, Mothma had stiffened considerably after the admiral had mentioned the words 'supreme commander' but – while she shot Luke and Leia a narrowed eyed look which clearly stated that she wanted to know what was going on – she didn't comment.

"Thank you," Luke said stiffly.  
"Now onto the true reason why I contacted you," Piett said as he bowed slightly forward and picked something up from somewhere in front of him, "according to this Lord Vader made you the beneficiary of his will under the condition that his death occurred after the emperor's death and that you were the reason he died."  
Luke stiffened at those words. He had known that removing his father's helmet and mask – and thus his life-support – would kill him but he had done it anyway because it was his father's last request. To hear that he truly was the reason that his father was dead – the fact that he would have died anyway didn't make it any better – felt like a punch to the gut to him.

Piett continued as if he hadn't noticed his stiffening but it was clear to everyone that he had.  
"The IIA(1) checked the feeds of the Second Death Star to make sure that those conditions were fulfilled," he told them, "as they were it means that you inherit everything he owned. But that's not all. His Royal Highness, Emperor Palpatine the First named Lord Vader his heir under the condition that Lord Vader was the reason for his untimely passing."  
Luke felt a part of his mind freeze in disbelieve as he tried to comprehend what he had just been told.

"Excuse me," Mothma said, but her voice sounded slightly off and _hazy_ to his ears, "did you just say that Vader would inherit everything from Palpatine as long as he killed him? And that Commander Skywalker would inherit everything from Vader as long as he was the reason Vader died and only if Vader died after Palpatine?"  
"I believe I just said that," Piett said clearly annoyed.  
"So that means that Commander Skywalker would inherit everything that belonged to Palpatine," Mothma continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. Luke's mind froze completely after that.

"What does that mean for Luke?" Leia's voice sounded vaguely through the mist in his mind.  
"It means that Lord Skywalker is to be the new Emperor of the Galactic Empire," Piett's voice sounded.  
It was the last thing Luke heard before everything went black.

**oOo  
**  
When he woke up again it was the feeling of a bed underneath him, a blanket covering his body and the brightness of his own room.  
He narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember how he came to be in his room, only to widen them as he remembered everything that had happened before he had fainted.  
He felt his face turn bright red in embarrassment as he realised that he had fainted in front of not only his sister but also Senator Mothma and Admiral Piett before he paled drastically as he remembered why had fainted in the first place.  
He had inherited everything from both his father and the emperor. He was to be the new emperor. Why him?

"This wasn't what I had in mind when I asked you to remove my mask and helmet," an unknown masculine voice sounded from his right side and Luke – thankful to be torn away from his own thoughts – sat up and turned towards the voice.  
He recognized the force ghost – a tall, young man just a few years older than he was – immediately even though he had only seen him once before.  
"Father?" Luke questioned.  
"In my selfish need to see your face with my own eyes I cursed you with this fate," his father told him mournfully, his blue eyes – so like his own – showed a great sadness, "I had completely forgotten about that condition in my will and even though I think you deserve everything you ever want to have I have never wanted this for you."

"Why?" Luke asked curiously.  
"Why what?" his father asked, "why did I make you my heir? Why did you have to be the one who killed me before you could inherit everything? Why wouldn't I have wanted this for you?"  
"All of the above," Luke admitted.

"The first two are both easy," his father said wryly, "I was a Sith and, like most Dark Lords of the Sith tend to be, arrogant. It is one of the Sith's many flaws. I was convinced that I could turn you to the Dark Side of the Force. Now I can see that I would've never succeeded. Not because you aren't able to be turned – though you would have fought very hard to stay on the Light Side – but because I was not nearly as far on the Dark Side as I believed myself to be and I wouldn't have been able to stand by as you would have been hurt by Palpatine."

Luke shot him a soft thankful smile as his father's eyes softened.  
"And why you had to be the one to kill me: ever heard of the 'Rule of Two'?" he asked him.  
"Not that I can remember," Luke admitted.  
"It's easy," his father told him, "it states that there can only be two Sith at any given time: one master and one apprentice. As soon as the apprentice is stronger than the master he or she has to kill his or her master to _become_ the master. After that he or she can take on an apprentice of his or her own. If the apprentice fails to kill the master. Well, the master would just have to find a new apprentice."  
"That sounds disturbing," Luke commented.  
His father smiled a grim smile, "it's the way of the Sith. And it works for them, though I'm glad that I'm no longer one."

"And the last why?" Luke asked curiously.  
"You'll have no choice but to accept the heritage, both of them," His father told him sadly as he closed his eyes, "if you don't a lot of people will die."

Luke frowned as he studied his father, "why?"  
His father opened his eyes slowly but kept his head turned away in sorrow, "Palpatine asked of me a way to make sure that, if you were to stay on the Light Side of the Force and by some fluke both he and I were to be killed before you were turned, you would still have to accept the throne and we would have another chance to turn you to the Dark Side of the Force. Somehow, but don't ask me how."  
He looked at him briefly, "if you had turned to the Dark Side of the Force you would've accepted it the moment Piett had told you. Sith are greedy and power hungry beings."

"What did you suggest?" Luke murmured, his tone shaky.  
"I suggested that he add a clause in the will," his father whispered, his tone filled with shame and self-loathing, "if you were to decline the heritage everything we owned would be destroyed."  
"That doesn't sound too bad," Luke said, "but that's not all, is it?"  
"No," his father answered before he gestured to his bedside table, "your sister brought you the list with everything you will inherit from both Palpatine and me, I suggest you take a look at mine. It's on top."

Luke did as he was told and took the top datapad and scanned through it. It seemed that his father had owned a lot of land on a lot of planets, multiple medical centres, the loyalty of a group of non-humans named Noghri and a lot of speeders, airships, star ships and other fighters, including multiple Star Destroyers and Dreadnaughts.  
"I don't really get it," he finally admitted after a couple of minutes, "do they plan to kill these Noghri?"  
"That was the idea, well part of it," his father said dryly, "the emperor was convinced that you would be as greedy as the rest of humans he normally dealt with, but he didn't want to be proven wrong so he ordered me to be as vague as possible. But in case you declined… Well, everything on that list is to be destroyed as soon as you told whoever is in charge that you declined. Immediately. Including all the Star Destroyers."  
Luke gasped and paled as soon as he realised what his father meant.  
"Thousands of lives would've been destroyed," he exclaimed.  
"Millions upon millions of lives," he was told, "Palpatine owns entire planets."

Luke closed his eyes horrified.  
"So I have to accept it," he whispered, "even though I don't want to own all this and even though I don't want to be emperor I have to accept this."  
"And I know you will," his father told him softly, a small proud smile on his face much to Luke's surprise, "and because of that I know you'll be a great emperor and an even greater Jedi master."  
Luke blinked up at him.  
"The greatest rulers are those that don't want to rule," his father said gently, "I know that you can do it but if you ever need me: I'll be there for you. Just call for me."

Luke shot up at those last words, especially as he saw that his father started to fade away, "please don't leave!"  
"I'm proud of you, my son," he told him even as he started to become harder to see, "and know that both your mother and I love both you and your sister very much."  
Luke blinked the tears that had appeared in his eyes away.

"I'll always be there for you," his father repeated and the last thing Luke saw was the small proud smile on the face of Anakin Skywalker before he faded away completely.

* * *

_1: IIA = Imperial Intelligence, also known as the Bureau of Imperial Intelligence, Imperial Bureau of Investigation or the Imperial Intelligence Agency, abbreviated Imperial Intel._

_I hope you guys liked this story/ one-shot._

_Please leave a review and tell me what you think!_

_~Marwana_


End file.
